Peat Lake State Natural Area is headlined by its 42-acre namesake lake.  Haboring mainly non-native carp, the lake is not known for it fishery and is not particularly accessible for those purposes.  Such access is somewhat precluded by the extensive surrounding wetlands, composed of sedge meadow and cattail marsh.

Located on the WI-IL border and within the Peat Lake State Habitat Area, this site is best accessed from a gravel parking area on the east side of the property on the west side of 280th St.

As one might expect, the site is primarily know for the wildlife that calls it home and, in particular, the bird species.  As I was not very “into” birding at the time of my visit, I would like to return to search for some of the species observed here previously, including green heron, Virginia rail, king rail, American woodcock, American bittern, and least bittern.  I would also like to explore the sedge meadow areas a bit more and see just how close I can get to the water’s edge….safely, of course.

More of my photos (and full-res) from Peat Lake can be viewed here.

Just under 400 more blog posts to go!  Well, actually a few more than that remain; counting SNA’s delisted since I started and a few SNA’s to be designated, the current total is nearly 700, though hopefully, that will increase!

If you would like to help support this project, please consider a donation.  There are many SNA’s yet to visit and even more to revisit and I ultimately plan to write a book about my adventures.  Thank you!

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